As a child I was constantly reminded that “You Jews killed Jesus” by my Christian friends and acquaintances.
Back then I didn’t know and (frankly) didn’t care about God or the Messiah, but I knew enough to say that Jesus came to die for their sins, so all we did was help Him.
Now I know better- it wasn’t the Jews who killed Jesus, nor was it the Romans: it was ME.
They say evil succeeds when good people do nothing about it. But what if the good people don’t even know there is evil being done?
Have you ever really watched and thought about some of the TV commercials we are saturated with?
We are being conditioned to accept as good that which is evil.
In Luke 4 we read of Yeshua teaching at a synagogue and reading from Isaiah. He reads a few passages from the scroll, folds it up and tells the people that He is the one talked about in that scroll.
But He didn’t read the entire scroll- in fact, He left out the part about salvation and resurrection of Israel and the Jewish people.
Why?
A new year, a new beginning for most everyone in the world. But how do we start it?
Many make resolutions to do something that they know they need to: a diet, give up smoking, be more helpful to the needy….whatever.
As for me, I think the best way to start anew is to get past the past, and the only way to do that is to learn forgiveness.
And that’s not just a good idea- it is a commandment!
This week we come to the end of the book of Genesis.
Jacob blesses Joseph’s children, and adopts them. He later blesses each of the 12 Tribes, then acob dies. The book ends with Joseph’s death and his request to make sure his bones are brought back to the Land when the children of Israel return.
When Jacob blesses Judah, we have a messianic prophecy of the coming of Yeshua…or do we? Where as Christianity sees this as a messianic prophecy, Judaism rejects it as such,,,but why?
My cat was next to me in bed last night, and as I was stroking his head he rolled over and exposed his belly to me, obviously wanting a belly-rub.
When I complied to his request, his purring got so much louder that I knew he was happy, and his joy became my joy, as well.
When we “roll over” to God and expose our “belly” by praying to Him from our heart and coming before Him with a contrite, humble and appreciative spirit, which is an act symbolic of complete trust and love, He finds great pleasure in providing blessings for us.
Part of the definition of a Demagogue, according to Wikipedia, is:
Demagogues overturn established customs of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so.
Although the term is usually applied to a political system, can it be found within spiritual circles?
And if so, how do we recognize it?
A bridge gives us passage from one place to another over a terrain or obstacle that cannot be crossed by walking or driving. In the Marines Corps, one of the things I was responsible to do was to be able to blow up bridges that gave the enemy a tactical advantage
We have a bridge that is between us and God, which has it’s entrance here in the world and leads to salvation. Like all bridges, it is composed of components that provide the support needed to allow us to cross over.
The enemy of God wants to destroy that bridge, and we need to know how he plans to do it.
Many people believe that to be humble means to be weak and ineffective.
Some are humble from self-doubt or a low self-esteem, but those who are humble in the way God wants us to be humble find that humility comes from inner strength, and as a result strengthens oneself to not feel the need to prove oneself to others.
Those who are humble before the Lord and show that humility in their relationship with others are, for my money, the ones I want to have on my side if there was trouble.
Yeshua tells a parable about tares planted in a field along with the wheat, and that the owner of the field directs his workers to wait until the entire field is harvested before separating the tares from the wheat.
What can that mean to us, today, when we are trying to talk to someone about God?
